Choummaly Sayasone

Choummaly Sayasone (6 March 1936-) was General Secretary of the Lao People's Revolutionary Party from 21 March 2006 to 22 January 2016 (succeeding Khamtai Siphandon and preceding Bounnhang Vorachith) and President of Laos from 8 June 2006 to 20 April 2016 (succeeding Khamtai Siphandon and preceding Vorachith).

Biography
Choummaly Sayasone was born in Attapu, Laos in 1936, and he joined the Pathet Lao in 1954 and the Lao People's Revolutionary Party a year later. He fought in the First Indochina War and then the Laotian Civil War, becoming a Lieutenant-General in 1959. He rose through the ranks after the communist takeover in 1975, joining the Politburo in 1991 and serving as Defense Minister from 1991 to 2001. From 2006 to 2016, he served as Chairman of the LPRP and President of Laos, and he retired in 2016.